Weapon safety is an ever-growing issue in today's society. Many public officials and private citizens carry firearms on a consistent basis and need to remove their firearms from their holsters when using, maintaining, or locking their firearm. In general, it is difficult or impossible to shoot a gun when the weapon is properly retained within a holster. Accordingly, removing the gun from the holster creates the danger of an accidental discharge.
In 1997, President Clinton issued a mandate to all federal officials carrying firearms. Clinton's mandate, which is still in effect, required all federal agencies to provide a gun lock when issuing a firearm to a public official. The goal of the mandate was to limit the number of loaded guns that fell into the hands of children. With a gun lock, even if a child were to pick up a loaded gun, the child would be unable to discharge the gun because the trigger would be locked in a safe position.
Current gun locks have become widespread since Clinton's mandate. However, current gun locks are burdensome, clumsy, and require the gun to be removed from the holster so the lock can be installed. In many ways, gun locks currently on the market increase firearm danger by requiring federal officials to remove their gun from the safety of the holster when locking the trigger in a safe position.